Job Growth
There is a total of 169,361 people employed in the six-county region as of 2021. Lycoming County employs the highest share of people at about 30.8 percent, whereas Montour County employs the lowest share at just 5.1 percent. Unlike Lycoming, Montour, and Northumberland Counties, which experienced employment growth in 2021, Columbia, Snyder, and Union Counties saw a decrease in total employment. Statewide, the number of employed individuals decreased by two percent between 2019 and 2021.
Occupational Wages
In the six-county region, management occupations offer the highest median wages ($96,700). The same is true for management occupations statewide. The median wage of management occupations in Montour County is $118,500, which is not only the highest in the region but also higher than that of the Commonwealth ($112,100).rnrnThe average annual median wage of the six-county region is $44,700, which is lower than the statewide average ($47,300). Montour County has the highest annual median wages in the six-county region at $53,700. In contrast, Snyder County has the lowest median wages in the region with an average annual income of $40,500. It should be noted that because Columbia County has been added and historical data is not available for this indicator, all wages have been updated to reflect Q2 of 2023.rn
Mean Salaries
In all six counties in the region, management occupations offer the highest mean salaries. The same is true for mean salaries statewide. Montour County is home to the highest paying management occupations in the region ($136,800), with a mean salary even higher than that of the Commonwealth ($127,200).rnrnThe six-county region has a mean annual salary of $55,300, which is lower than the statewide average ($61,000). Montour County has the highest annual mean salaries in the six-county region at $66,800. In contrast, Snyder County has the lowest annual mean salaries at $50,000. Like the occupational wages section of this report, historical data were not available for mean salaries. Additionally, mean salaries have been updated to reflect Q2 of 2023.rn
Family Sustaining Wages
An entry-level wage of $20.00 hourly was used as a benchmark when gathering data about occupations offering family sustaining wages. The definition of a family sustaining wage or living wage varies based on county as well as household size and the number of working adults in the household. This wage was chosen as an example of a wage at entry level that is likely to provide a living wage to workers as they progress through their career. In the six-county region, there are approximately 41,000 filled jobs offering entry level wages of $20.00 and above. This total comprises 25.5 percent of all occupations in the six-county region. Registered nurses make up the largest share of these jobs, followed by general and operations managers. Below are the top 10 occupations – in terms of number employed – that offer family sustaining wages in the region.
Additionally, as of Q2 of 2023, the average annual wage of the family sustaining occupations in the six-county region is $93,400. Below are the top 10 highest paying occupations in the region:
During the previous 10 years, the region has added 1,838 positions in the identified family-sustaining occupations. However, in the next 10 years, the region is expected to lose 3,180 of these positions. Registered nurses comprise the largest share of this expected job loss (decreasing by 375 positions), followed by farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers (decreasing by 302 positions).
Occupational Diversity
With regard to wage gaps in the six-county region, 24.4 percent of labor force participants earned at least $20 per hour in Q2 of 2023. Of these workers, only 1.4 percent are Hispanic or Latino. Two percent identify as Asian, 1.6 percent identify as Black, 1.6 percent identify with two or more races, and 0.1 percent identify as American Indian. Only 20 of these workers in the entire region identify as Pacific Islander. In contrast, 94.7 percent of workers earning at least $20.00 an hour in the six-county region identify as White.
Additionally, in the six-county region, a majority of management occupations are filled by those who identify as White (96.1 percent). Furthermore, 98.5 percent of workers in these positions are non-Hispanic/Latino.
Commuting
OnTheMap was used to gather 2020 data for this section of the report. This tool cross references U.S. Census and Bureau of Labor Statistics data to analyze the relationships between where people live and work. Home commute refers to the those commuting into a specific county for work, whereas work commute refers to those commuting out of a given county to work (labor shed).rnrnMost commuters traveling into the region for work travel less than 10 miles. Lycoming County has the largest share of commuters traveling this distance specifically (46.6 percent), though it also has the largest share of travelers commuting more than 50 miles (26.5 percent). Between 18.0 percent and 24.1 percent of workers traveling to the other counties commute more than 50 miles as well.
With the exception of Montour County, there are more workers who travel out of each county to work than workers who travel to each county to work. The largest shares of these commuters also travel less than 10 miles, followed by those who travel 10 to 24 miles.
Employment Breakdown by Industry
Health care and social assistance is the leading industry in the six-county region in terms of employment with 32,329 employees. This total comprises 20.1 percent of the region’s workforce. Second to health care and social assistance is manufacturing, which employs 22,514 individuals (14.0 percent). Following manufacturing is retail trade, an industry that has 18,706 employees and comprises 11.6 percent of the region’s workforce. At the state level, health care and social assistance is also the leading industry in terms of employment, followed by retail trade and manufacturing, respectively.rnrnBy individual county, healthcare and social assistance is the leading industry in Lycoming, Montour, and Union Counties, whereas manufacturing is the top industry in terms of employment in Columbia, Northumberland, and Snyder Counties. Six years prior, health care and social assistance was the leading industry in Northumberland County as well. Overall, the health care and social assistance comprised approximately 21.0 percent of the region’s workforce in 2018, a slightly larger share than that of 2023.rn
Employment in Top Four Industry Sectors
The following pie charts break down the top four industries of each county in the region. By identifying the top four industries of a specific region, the economic resilience of that region is revealed. For instance, if a region has the highest concentration of workers in one particular sector only, then it is more vulnerable to economic downturn should that industry experience significant layoffs.
Overall, the workforce distribution of the region’s top four industries is fairly uneven. Health Care and Social Assistance, the industry with the highest level of employment in the region (32,329 people), makes up 37.6 percent of the top four industries’ workforce. Conversely, the fourth highest industry in the region comprises only 14.4 percent.
Economic Trends
Overall, the six-county region has also lost more occupations than it has added in the previous ten years. The most significant losses were in office and administrative support occupations, construction and extraction occupations, sales and related occupations, and production occupations, which lost a combined total of 6,912 positions. However, of those occupations that did increase over the same period, the most significant healthcare practitioners and technical occupations and management occupations.
Lastly, at the industry level, the most significant additions have been made in the health care and social assistance industry and the transportation and warehousing industry.
Labor Force Participation
The labor force participation rate is the percentage of the population that is either working or actively looking for work. As of 2021, the average labor force participation rate in the six-county region is 57.8 percent. In Lycoming, Montour, and Northumberland Counties, the labor force participation rate increased by 4.0 percent, 1.5 percent, and 2.6 percent, respectively. Conversely, the labor force participation rate of Columbia, Snyder, and Union Counties decreased by 1.2 percent, 0.3 percent, and 2.3 percent, respectively. Statewide, the labor force participation rate decreased by about one percent between 2019 and 2021.
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Community Vital Signs